The waiter guided her back inside the café, but he did not switch on the main lights. Instead, he let the premises remain steeped in a gentle gloom, broken only by the faint, soft glow emanating from the glass display fridge showing pastries and cakes. That single, rectangular spot of light was more than enough to reveal his features to Fati; a handsome young man, seemingly her own age or slightly younger, dressed in a woolen sweater and jeans. He was a thoroughly ordinary man, as simple as the sudden sense of safety he had instilled in her heart.
She glanced around with lingering suspicion, asking hesitantly,
- Is it... is it alright for us to enter the café like this in the dark? The owner might think we are robbing the place!
The young man wore a faint, reassuring smile and murmured,
- Do not worry about that at all. Just worry about yourself; you are completely drenched, as if you just emerged from the middle of a river.
He moved swiftly toward the back, returning moments later with a dry cotton towel. He placed it gently over her soaked head and said,
- Dry yourself up. I will go search for some clean, dry clothes for you in the staff room.
Fati did not object this time, nor did her pride intercede. Instead, she complied and accepted his kindness, knowing full well that she was in a pitiful state. She was no longer that defeated girl who would fold her hands, waiting for her executioner to arrive and spill her blood. No, she would live! The survival instinct flared in her chest, and she resolved to cling to life with everything she had. For in this cruel world, there was still room for light, and there were still pure, good-hearted human beings... just like this waiter.
The waiter returned with hurried steps, holding a gray cotton T-shirt the exact color of resilient steel. He extended it toward her, pointing with his other hand to a closed wooden door in the corner of the establishment, and said,
- The restrooms are over there. Put this on quickly, and let's get out of here before passersby on the street notice any movement inside and an unwanted customer barges in on us at an inappropriate time.
Fati stepped into the restroom, and before anything else, she extended her trembling hand to check the lock of the door over and over again. She secured it tightly, listening closely to the metallic click; despite all the kindness this young man had showered upon her, the remnants of agony and betrayal left her incapable of believing in absolute goodness. There was simply no room for risks anymore. After stripping off her drenched clothes and slipping into that oversized steel-gray shirt, she stepped back out, a warm shiver running through her. He greeted her with an urgent tone:
- Come on, let's head outside quickly
She stood her ground, her feet rooted to the floor as she stared into the depths of his eyes and said,
- Wait... answer me first. Why did you come back for me? Why did you help me and save me from that freezing cold?
The young man froze in his tracks, looking thoroughly taken aback, as he had not anticipated such a question from her. In his simple mind and ordinary upbringing, what he had done was nothing more than an instinctive, humane act dictated by conscience it required no explanation. He fell silent for a few seconds before answering in a candid tone,
- I... I was riding the bus on my way home. When we drove past the café, I caught a glimpse of you through the window, standing in the exact same spot under the rain, just as we had left you. My heart simply wouldn't let me leave you like that, so I got off at the very next stop and ran back to you with all my might.
Fati asked, her voice choked with utter bewilderment. Was there truly someone in this desolate world who would run for her sake? Someone who would abandon his bus and race against the wind to rescue her from the freezing cold? She shook her head in disbelief, asking hesitantly as her eyes scanned his features,
- You hurried and ran... all for me?! But... why would you do that?
The young man briefly averted his gaze in polite embarrassment, then replied genuinely,
To be honest... I felt a crushing sense of guilt, because I was the one who asked you to leave the café moments ago. So, when I got on the bus and caught a glimpse of you through the window not having moved a single inch, just standing there under the torrential rain a terrible feeling of unease washed over me. I simply couldn't bear the thought of leaving someone behind who was bleeding with grief.
At that very moment, Fati felt deep within her soul that this simple stranger was the savior destiny had sent her on the night of her ruin. Driven by a vague, primal instinct, she resolved to cling to him tonight, to surrender the direction of her steps to him and see what fate awaited her. Looking at him with eyes full of both defiance and pleading, she said,
- And will you leave me now? As you can see... the rain is still pouring relentlessly outside.
The waiter froze in his tracks, completely stunned. He stared at her with a look that did not hide his shock at her implication, then asked in a cautious tone,
- Do... do you not have a place to stay tonight?
At this, her final defenses utterly crumbled. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as she blurted out, without thought or regard for the future,
- No... I don't have anywhere to go. Will you... will you take me with you?
He spoke in a guarded tone, his eyes widening in sheer disbelief,
- Do you even know what you are asking of me, miss?! You don't even know me
Fati answered with a somber, unshakable resolve, tears still tracing their path down her cheeks,
- Yes, I know... I just need a roof to sleep under tonight. It isn't because I lack money, but because I desperately need safety... and I believe I will find it with you. Just for tonight... I need a shelter, nothing more.
The young man exhaled a heavy sigh, glancing at her oversized, drenched steel-gray clothes before whispering hooks of hesitation,
- Alright... but I am afraid my home might not be fitting for someone like you.
She cut him off without a second thought,
- It doesn't matter... anything will suffice for me right now. All I need is a place far, far away from everyone I know... just so I can think.
He nodded, keeping it brief,
- Then... let's go.
They boarded the bus together in a heavy, pregnant silence, the vehicle cutting through the distances toward the opposite half of the city. There, the surroundings began to drastically shift, and the stark, impoverished neighborhoods laid themselves bare before her eyes. They dismounted and ventured into ancient, narrow alleys and cramped, dimly lit backstreets. Remarkably, Fati did not feel a single ounce of fear. Though it was the first time her feet had ever stepped into pathways of such darkness and confinement—and despite having studied in Germany, lived as an expatriate, and faced numerous hardships—she had never experienced entering places this perilous before. Yet, her sheer terror of Jaguar made this bleak sanctuary feel like heaven.
The moment the door to his humble apartment swung open and they stepped inside, a sharp, persistent cough shattered the silence, echoing from the shadows of the living room. Within a fraction of a second, the waiter bolted with frantic desperation toward the sound. Fati's steps followed closely behind, only to find an elderly woman lying upon a dilapidated sofa, wrapped tightly in a heavy blanket, her frail frame violently shuddering with every cough.
Fati stood there, watching the young man as he knelt beside the old woman, clasping her hand and asking in a voice filled with utter helplessness and anxiety about her health and her medication. She listened closely to their agonizing exchange, and suddenly... the veil lifted from her eyes, and the truth struck her like a thunderbolt.
She realized at that terrifying moment that the reason she had been brought to this place tonight was not because she was the lost soul fleeing from death... but because this simple waiter was the one who was truly lost. He was the one standing utterly helpless, desperately needing a "doctor" to heal the affliction of the old woman fighting for her life.